Workpiece counter apparatus



Nov. 1 1 A 962 L. F. STRINGER ETAL 3,063,632

WORKPIECE COUNTER APPARATUS Original Filed June 28, 1957 6 sheets-Sheet1 .I $3 2 d h: (.0 N g, 3 S 2 oi' g- 15; m a 5; 8 .3 g s 2 i, o g o 2 0Q a Q "2 J WITNESSES INVENTORS Loren E Stringer 0nd M QZ a John W.Stuart.

W (QM/6' ATTORNEY Nov. 13, 1962 F. STRINGER ETAL 3,063,632

WORKPIECE COUNTER APPARATUS Original Filed June 28, 1957 6 sheetssheet 2Nov. 13, 1962 L. F. STRINGER ETAL 3,063,632

WORKPIECE COUNTER APPARATUS Original Filed June. 28, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet3 Slnqle Pulsa Generator Single Pulse Gonorotor Data Processing DeviceFig.5.

1962 F. STRINGER ETAL 3,063,632

WORKPIECE COUNTER APPARATUS Original Filed June 28, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet4 Single Pulse Generator Slnqle Pulse Genarotor I I a 34 v I v I T023 lo n r on 1 Pei-34 I r 42 on km 46 7 L 0N 50 i 56 Acc umulotof c ;u :fttour Dcm: /26 Processing Nov. 13, 1962 L. F. STRINGER ETAL 3,063,632

WORKPIECE COUNTER APPARATUS Original Filed June 28, 1957 6 sheets sheet5 32 33 LSD ILSEI Single Pulse Single Pulse Generator Generator i. i 24472 6O 64 35 W78 Nov. 13, 1962 Original Filed June 28, 1957 will Fig. 6Fig. 7.

Fig. 8.

(B5 82 a4 lflP c on W Binary c oOufpuf Counter 8O Clock Pulse Generatori ro F ig. 9.

Patented Nov. 13, 1952 3,063,632 WQRKPIECE COUNTER APPARATUS Loren F.Stringer, Williamsville, N.Y., and John W. Stuart, Columbus, Ohio,assignors to Westinghouse Electric Qorporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Continuation of application Ser. No.668,733, June 28, 12 57. This application Sept. 28, 1961, Ser. No.142,454

1? Claims. (Cl. 235-98) The present invention relates, in general, toworkpiece counting and handling apparatus, and more particularly toworkpiece counting apparatus operative with a workpiece or billet travelpath leading to a workpiece treatment device, such as a furnace andoperative for counting the number of workpieces or billets relative tothe operation of said treatment device.

This is a continuation of an application of Loren F. Stringer and JohnW. Stuart, Serial No. 668,733, filed June 28, 1957, now abandoned, andentitled Workpiece Counter Apparatus.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved workpiececounting apparatus for supplying better data for subsequent utilizationrelative to the operation of a workpiece treatment device, and moreparticularly to provide improved workpiece counting apparatus foraccomplishing the required workpiece detection and data provision inthis regard as necessary to provide the input data to a subsequent dataprocessing computer device.

It is a different object to provide an improved workpiece countingapparatus operative to in effect integrate the total space occupied bysaid workpieces at a specific location in a predetermined travel pathand thusly determine the number of workpieces actually at said location.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide improvedworkpiece counting apparatus operative to provide a predetermined numberof counting pulses or signals for each workpiece at a specified locationin a workpiece travel path, and further being operative to determinefrom the total number of said signals provided, the total number ofworkpieces at said location during a given counting or sampling periodof time.

It is a still different object of the present invention to provideimproved workpiece counting apparatus including at least one countingsignal source for each workpiece and a predetermined position responsivedevice for providing a control signal, with a static device requiringsaid counting signal and said control signal before an indication of thepresence of said workpiece is made.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide o improvedworkpiece counting apparatus including at least one counting signalsource for each workpiece and a predetermined position responsive devicefor providing a suitable control signal when an initial predeterminedposition is reached by said workpiece and an additional positionresponsive device for providing a second control signal when asubsequent predetermined position is reached by said workpiece, withsaid apparatus being operative to respond to said counting signal onlyafter said first control signal has been received, and being furtheroperative to provide an indication of the total number of said countingsignals received and thereby the total number of said workpieces onlyafter said second control signal has been received.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent in view of the following description taken inconjunction with the drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 illustrates the operation of the present counter apparatus;

FIG. 2 further illustrates the operation of the present counterapparatus;

FIG. 3 is a schematic showing of one form of the present counterapparatus;

FIG. 4 is a schematic showing of another modification of the presentcounter apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a schematic showing of a third modification of the presentcounter apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a schematic showing of a NOR element suitable for use with thecontrol apparatus as shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a modification of the NOR element shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a showing of a photosensitive NOR element utilizing aphototransistor, with said NOR element having its sensitivity increasedby means of the toggle action circuit as shown in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic circuit arrangement for a NOR element time delaydevice suitable for use with the counter apparatus as shown in FIG. 5.

In FIG. 1 there is illustrated the operation of the counter apparatus inaccordance wtih the present invention operative to provide discreteelectrical counting pulses for counting and recording the number ofbillets or workpieces charged into a furnace. In one application of theapparatus, each billet is approximately 3 /2 inches wide and 3 /2 incheshigh and 30 feet long, and is carried by a plurality of power rollers 12to a retractable billet stop 14. From one to four billets may beaccumulated transversely along each of the power roller members 12 atthe billet stop 14 prior to being charged into the furnace 16. Anoperator controls a charging ram 13 by means of a ram control device 20which is operative to push the accumulated billets 10 into the furnace16. The billet stop 14 is retracted when it is desired to push thebillets 10 into the furnace 16 by means of the charging ram 18, also thecharging ram 18 may be removed from the billet travel path when desired.

The workpiece or billet counting operation is desired to be done afterthe charging ram 18 has moved beyond the last driven roll 12' so thatonly workpieces actually charged into the furnace 16 are counted andrecorded by the billet counter device 24 and subsequent data processingdevice 26. A limit switch LSD operative as a delivery limit switch ispositioned adjacent the last driven roll 12 for providing a firstcontrol signal to initiate the counting operation when the charging ram18 moves beyond the last driven roll 12'. In this regard, the chargingram 18 includes an extension arm 30 operative with a control member 32of the limit switch LSD. The count accumulated within the billet counterdevice 24 is not read out until the charging ram 18 has reached aforward position as sensed by the limit switch LSE positioned adjacentthe entry to the furnace 16 such that it provides a second controlsignal to the billet counter device 24 for controlling the read-outoperation of the billet counter device 24. In this manner, a doublecount operation is prevented.

After the charging ram 13 has pushed the workpieces 1% into the furnace16, the charging ram 1 is withdrawn to its initial position as shown bythe dot-dash lines in FiG. 1. The billet stop 14 may be now raised intoposition to stop the movement of workpieces along the travel path, andthe billet counter device 24 and data processing device 26 are clearedin preparation for a. new counting operation.

A plurality of spaced phototransistor devices 34 are transverselypositioned and equally spaced below the workpiece travel path and beyondthe last driven roll 12'. A suitable light source 36 is positioned abovethe work travel path and includes an optical system for eachphototransistor for collecting the light from the light source 36. Theworkpiece or billets in passing along the rollers 12 defining the workpath interrupt the light to some of the phototransistors 34, and thespacing of the phototransistors transverse to the work path is soarranged such that a single workpiece or billet will cut off either fouror five phototransistors, two workpieces in the travel path will cut oilbetween eight to ten phototransistors, three workpieces will cut offbetween twelve to fifteen phototransistors, and four workpieces will cutoff between sixteen to twenty phototransistors, with some allowance forshadow effect and the finite resolving power of the optical system. Itshould be here noted that the above arrangement is merely illustrative.The spacing of the photoelements and the size of the workpiecesdetermine the desired discrimination.

Since the workpieces are in motion along the work path, they may have acomponent of velocity'in a transverse direction relative to thedirectionof the work path and, therefore, it is necessary to sample theenergization of the phototransi'sto rs 34 by the light source 36 over arelatively small interval of time. In addition, during the lattercounting operation or scanning operation information must be storeduntil the charging ram 18 has completed its strokep Thusly, the furnaceentrance limit switch LSE having a control arm 3-3 is provided forfurnishing a read-out control signal to the billet counter 24.

In FIG. 2 there is shown a top view of the workpiece counter andhandling apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and in accordance with the presentinvention, wherein the charging ram 18 is operative with four workpiecesfor moving the workpieces into the furnace 16. A plurality oftwenty-four phototransistors 34 are shown, with the equally spacedtransversepositioning of the phototransistors 34 illustrated relative tothe direction of the workpiece travel path.

In FIG. 3 there is shown a schematic arrangement of the billet counter"device 24 as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 3 the delivery limit switch LSD isoperative to trigger a single pulse generator 4Q for providing a'firstcontrol pulse to a first plurality of AND devices 42 with one of saidAND devices 42 being provided for each of the phototransistors 34, whichare also designated P1 to P24. The output of each of the AND, devices'42 is supplied to the On input of a Flip-Flop or Mem'ory' device 44,with one ot said Flip-Flop devices 44 being provided for each of thephototransistors 34, The output of the Flip-Flop device is connected toone input of a second AND device 46, with one of said AND devices beingprovided for each of the phototransistors 34. The output of the ANDdevice 46 for a first phototransistor P1 and the output of an AND device46 for a second phototransistor P2 are combined in a'first OR device 48,The output of said OR device 48 is applied to a successive OR device 50in conjunction with the output of an AND device 46 provided for a thirdphototransistor P3. Successive OR devices are provided in a similarmanner as needed for the successive counting signals received from theoutputs of the subsequent respective A ND devices 46, as illustrated inFIG. 3 and well known to persons skilled in this art.

In this regard, the second input of each AND device 46 is energized by asecond control signal received from a second single pulse generator 52as controlled by the furnace entry limit switch LSE, with the output ofthe second single pulse generator 52 being applied directly to the ANDdevice 46 for the first phototransistor P1, and passing through a firsttime delay device TD1 before it is applied to an input of the AND device46 provided for a second phototransistor P2. In this regard, successivetime delay devices TD2 through T1324 are provided as illustrated in FIG.3. The final time delay device TD24 is provided tofurnish a Clear signalto a counter 56 and to the Off input of each of the Flip-Flop devices 44as shown in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 4 there is shown a modification of the billet counter device 24with the first control signal received from the single pulse generator40 being operative with an input of the first AND device 42, and furtherbeing operative through a time delay device TDO for energizing an inputof the second AND device 46. The readout control signal as determined bythe furnace entry limit switch LSE is provided by the second singlepulse generator 52 directly connected to the counter 56 and to anaccumulator device 58'before the processing data is suppliedto a dataprocessing computer device 26. Also the Clear signal for the Flip-Flopdevices 44' is supplied by the single pulse generator 52.

As shown in FIG. 5 a still additional modification of the billet counterdevice 24 is shown utilizing NOR circuits as shown in FIG. 6.Photosensitive NOR elements 35 as shown in FIG. 5, it should beunderstood, are to be substituted for the phototransistor elements 34shown in FIG. 1 when the billet counter device 24 as shown in FIG. 5 isto be utilized. Further, it should be noted that associated with eachphotosensitive NOR element 35 is a toggle action circuit, as shown'inFIG. 8, an input inhibiting gate circuit 60, a NOR Flip-Flop or Memorycircuit 62, an output inhibiting gate circuit 64, and a time delay NORcircuit TD1 in accordance with the schematic showing of FIG. 9. In thisregard, it should be noted that the input NOR elements of the inhibitinggates 60 and 64 associated with each of the photosensitive NOR elements35 may be eliminated, except for the first pair, tentatively assumingthat one NOR element 72 can safely drive twenty-four other NOR elements70.

In the presence of radiant energy from the source 36, each of thephotosensitive NOR elements 35 which does not receive radiation, due tothe presence of the workpieces in the travel path adjacent the row ofphotosensitive NOR elements 35, provides an output signal to the NORelement 68 to provide'said NOR element 68 from having an output signal,such that the NOR element 70 in the input inhibiting gate 60 does notreceive a control signal from the NOR element 68 When the delivery limitswitch LSD is operated by the charging ram 18, the single pulsegenerator 40 provides an output signal to the NOR element 72 in theinput inhibiting gate 60 such that the latter NOR element 72 does nothave an output signal. Since both inputs of the NOR element 70, for eachphotosensitive NOR element 35. not receiving radiation are notenergized, the latter NOR element 70. does have an out put signal whichit supplied to the NOR element 74 in the flip-flop 62 to cause said NORelement 74 not to have an output signal, such that the input of the NORelement 76 in the output inhibiting gate 64 is not energized by the NORelement 74. Thusly, when the furnace entry limit switch LSE is operatedby the charging ram 18, the second, single pulse generator 52 providesan output signal to the NOR element 78 in the output inhibiting gate 64such that the latter NOR element 78 does not have an output signal.Thusly, the NOR element 76 is then not energized on either of its inputsso it provides an output signal. When the single pulse from the secondsingle pulse generator 52 is no longer present, the NOR element 78provides an output signal to cut oil? the output signal from the NORelement 76 in the output inhibiting gate 64, and in this manner a pulseis provided when the associated photosensitive NOR element 35 was notenergized.

The counter apparatus as shown in FIG. 5 includes a circuit arrangementoperative in a similar manner as above described, for each of thephotosensitive NOR elements 35, such that each of the photosensitive NORelements 35 not energized by radiation from the radiation source 36 .dueto the presence of "the workpieces in the travel path adjacent thephotosensitive NOR elements 35 is operative to provide an output pulseto the counter 56 in a sequence as determined by the pulse provided bythe second pulse generator 52 passing through the successive time delaydevices TD1 to TD24.

In this regard, the time delay device TD schematically shown in FIG. 9is operative such that the clock pulse generator 80 provides pulses atfixed time intervals, and when a signal is applied to the On input ofthe flip-flop device 82 an output pulse is applied to AND device 84. TheAND device 84 has an output signal only when its other input is ener edby the clock pulse generator 80. The binary counter 85 is operative suchthat it has an output pulse for every two input pulses that it received.Another suitable time delay device would be the Well-known passive delayline.

The NOR elements as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 can be made by providing twoor more inputs to a single transistor, as well known to persons skilledin this art. For example, in the May 1957 issue of Control EngineeringMagazine, there is an article entitled Static Switching Devices by Mr.R. A. Mathias that describes NOR elements and their operation. Theoutput wire is activated if and only if neither input wire is activated.Further, the relatively low base-emitter impedance of the transistorpermits the diodes to be eliminated even with as many as six or seveninputs. This operation of a NOR element is set forth and explained incopending application Serial No. 628,332, filed December 14, 1956, by W.D. Rowe and entitled NOR Elements for Control Systems. The circuitarrangement as shown in FIG. 7 extends the temperature range over whichthe NOR element can satisfactorily be operated by supplying anadditional base drive in order to remove thermally generated carriers inthe transistor.

A specially formed transistor, called a phototransistor in which radiantlight or energy generates the charge carriers necessary to producesaturation can be used to translate an event characterized by thepresence or absence of light or radiant energy into an eventcharacterized by the non-activation or activation of a wire such as theoutput wire of the NOR device. This principle is used in the operationof the photosensitive NOR elements 35 of FIG. 5.

The billet counting system shown in PEG. 3 is operative to providediscrete electrical pulse for counting and recording the number ofbillets charged into a furnace. The counting apparatus shown in PEG. 3utilizes magnetic logic elements whereas the counting apparatus as shownin FIG. 5 utilizes transistor logic elements. A limit switch LSD at thedelivery end of the last driven roll 12 triggers a single pulsegenerator il which activates the record wire id for a very smallinterval of time. The states of the phototrensistors are registered onthe output Wires of the AND devices 42 with said output wires beingactivated if the asso iated phototransistors 3d are cut oil. A secondlimit switch LS5 at the entrance to the furnace is tripped by thecharging ram as the ram completes its stroke in pushing the billets intothe furnace. At this time, the limit switch LSE triggers a second singlepulse generator 52 which activates the read-out wire 53 for a smallinterval of till o. By means of the provided delay line, including thetime delay devices, the latter pulse is placed on e ch of the inputwires to the respective AND devices *5 in time sequ nce. Thus a sequenceof pulses will appear on the input wire 55 to the counter and the numberof pulses will be equal to the number of phototransistors that were cutoil during the sam pling interval or period due to the presence ofworkpieces in the travel path. The counter 56 produces one pulse on itsoutput 57 leading to the data processing device 26 for every four pulseswhich appear on its input 55. By the above described predeterminedrelationship between the number of phototransistors cut and the numberof billets on the table it follows that the number of pulses appearingon the output wire 57 of the counter 56 is equal to the number ofbillets charged into the furnace. The

counting apparatus is then cleared after the read out of all theflip-flops has been completed in preparation for the next countinginterval or period.

It should be readily apparent to persons skilled in this art that theinformation supplied to the data processing device 26 by the counter 56may be utilized for control purposes other than accounting, such assupplying additional workpieces as needed to completely fill and moreefiiciently utilize the furnace.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degreeof particularity, it should be understood that the present disclosurehas been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in thedetails of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to without departing from the scope and the spirit of thepresent invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. In workpiece counting apparatus operative with a workpiece movementdevice and a workpiece movement path, the combination of a firstposition sensing device for providing a first control signal when saidworkpiece movement device is in a first predetermined position alongsaid path, a workpiece scanner device for scanning a predeterminedportion of said path and providing at least one counter signal for eachworkpiece present in said predetermined portion of said path, a secondposition sensing device for providing a second control signal when saidworkpiece movement device is in a second predetermined position alongsaid path, and a counter device operative with said workpiece scannerdevice and responsive to said first control Signal for receiving each ofsaid counter signals, with said counter device being responsive to saidsecond control signal for providing a total of said counter signalsreceived.

2. In workpiece counting apparatus operative with a workpiece movementdevice along a workpiece path extending in a predetermined workpiecemovement direction, the combination of a first position sensing devicefor providing a first control signal when said workpiece movement deviceis in a first predetermined position along said path, a workpiecescanner device for scanning a predetermined portion of said path andproviding at least one counter signal for each workpiece present in saidpredetermined portion of said path, a second posi tion sensing devicefor providing a second control signal when said workpiece movementdevice is in a second predetermined position along said path, with saidsecond position sensing device being spaced away from said firstposition sensing device a predetermined distance in Said workpiecemovement direction, and a counter device operative with said workpiecescanner device and responsive to said first control signal for receivingeach of said counter signals, with said counter device being responsiveto said second control signal for providing a total of said countersignals received to thereby indicate the number of workpieces in saidpredetermined portion of said path.

3. In workpiece counter apparatus operative with a workpiece movementdevice along a workpiece movement path, the combination of a firstposition sensing device for providing a first control signal when saidworkpiece movement device is in an initial first predetermined positionalong said movement path, a workpiece scanner device for scanning apredetermined portion of said path and providing at least one countersignal for each workpiece present in said predetermined portion of saidpath, a second position sensing device for providing a second controlsignal when said workpiece movement device is in a subsequent secondpredetermined position along said path, and a counter device responsiveto said first control signal and operative with said workpiece scannerdevice for receiving each of said counter signals after responding tosaid first control signal, with said counter device being responsive tosaid second control signal and being operative to provide an indicationof the total number of said workpieces in said predetermined portion ofsaid movement path after responding to said second control signal.

4. In workpiece counter apparatus operative with a workpiece movementpath, the combination of a workpiece movement device operative to moveat least one workpiece along said movement path in a predetermineddirection, a first position sensing device operative with said movementdevice for providing a first control signal when said movement devicepasses a predetermined first position along said movement path, aworkpiece scanner device for scanning a predetermined portion of saidmovement path and providing at least one counter signal for eachworkpiece present in said predetermined portion of said path, a secondposition sensing device operative with said movement device forproviding a second control signal when said movement device passes asecond predetermined position along said path, and a counter deviceoperative with said workpiece scanner device and responsive to saidfirst control signal for receiving each of said counter signals, withsaid counter device being responsive to said second control signal forproviding an indication of the total number of workpieces in saidpredetermined portion of said path.

5. In workpiece counter apparatus operative with a workpiece movementdevice along a workpiece travel path, the combination of a firstposition sensing device for providing a first control signal when saidworkpiece movement device is in a first predetermined position alongsaid path, a workpiece scanner device operative to scan a predeterminedportion of said travel path, with said workpiece scanner deviceincluding a plurality of radiation responsive position sensing elementsat one side of said travel path and a source of radiant energy at theopposite side of said path, with each of said position sensing elementsbeing operative to provide a counting signal when a workpiece ispositioned between the latter said element and said source in saidpredetermined portion of said workpiece travel path, a second positionsensing device for providing a second control signal when said workpiecemovement device is in a second predetermined position along said path,and a counter device operative with said workpiece scanner device andresponsive to said first control signal for receiving all of saidcounting signals, with said counter device being responsive to saidsecond control signal for providing a total indication of the number ofsaid workpieces in said predetermineportion of said workpiece travelpath.

6. In workpiece counter apparatus operative with a workpiece movementdevice along a workpiece travel path, the combination of a firstposition sensing device for pro-viding a first control signal when saidworkpiece movement device is in a first predetermined position alongsaid path, a workpiece scanner device for scanning a predeterminedportion of said path, with said scanner device including a plurality ofphotoresponsive position sensing elements, with each of said posin'onsensing elements being positioned on one side of said workpiece travelpath and being adapted to be energized by a source of light energypositioned on the opposite side of said workpiece travel path such thateach of said elements is operative to provide a counting signal when aworkpiece is positioned between the latter said element and said lightenergy source, a second position sensing device for providing a secondcontrol signal when said workpiece movement device is in a secondpredetermined position along said path, and a counter device operativewith each of said photo-responsive position sensing elements andresponsive to said first control signal for receiving each of saidcounting signals, with said counter device being responsive to saidsecond control signal for providing a total indication of the number ofworkpieces in accordance with a predetermined relationship between thetotal number of said workpieces relative to the total number of saidcounting signals received in said predetermined portion of the travelpath.

7. In workpiece counter apparatus operative with a workpiece movementdevice along a workpiece travel path, the combination of a firstposition sensing device for providing a first control signal when saidworkpiece movement device is in a first predetermined position alongsaid path, a workpiece scannerdevice operative to scan a predeterminedportion of said travel path, witlr said workpiece scanner deviceincluding a plurality of position sensing elements, with each of saidpositionsensing elements being operative to provide a counting signalwhen a workpiece is present in a predetermined re lationship relative tosaid sensing element, a second; position sensing device for providing asecond control signal when said workpiece movement device is in a sec-'ond predetermined position along said path, and a signal counter deviceoperative with said workpiece scanner device and including a sequencecontrol device and being responsive to said first control signal forsuccessively re ceiving each of said counter signals, with said signalcounter device being responsive to said control signal for providing atotal indication of the number of said workpieces in said predeterminedportion of said workpiece travel path.

8. In workpiece counting apparatus operative to count the number ofworkpieces moved by a workpiece movement device along a workpiece travelpath, the combination of a first position sensing device for providing afirst control signal when said workpiece movement device is in a firstpredetermined position in said travel path, a workpiece scanner deviceoperative with said travel path for providing a predetermined number ofcounting pulses for each workpiece located in a predetermined portion ofthe travel path, a second position sensing device .for providing asecond control signal when said workpiece movement device is in a secondpredetermined position in said travel path, and a counter deviceoperative with said workpiece scanner device and responsive to saidfirst control signal for receiving all of said counting signals, withsaid counter device being responsive to said second control signal forproviding an indication of the total number of said workpieces in saidpredetermined portion of the travel path in accordance with the numberof said counting signals received.

9. In workpiece counting apparatus operative to count the number ofworkpieces and moved by a workpiece movement device along a workpiecetravel path, the combination of a first position sensing device forproviding a first control signal when said workpiece movement device isin a first predetermined position in said travel path, a workpiecescanner device including a predetermined plurality of workpiece positionsensing elements, with each of said elements being operative to providea counting signal when a workpiece is located in a predetermined portionof the travel path, a second position sensing device for providing asecond control signal when said workpiece movement device is in a secondpredeterrnined position in said travel path, and a signal counter deviceoperative with said workpiece scanner device and responsive to saidfirst control signal for receiving successively said predeterminednumber of counting signals, with said signal counter device beingsubsequently responsive to said second control signal for providing anindication of the total number of said workpieces in said predeterminedportion of the travel path.

10. In workpiece counting apparatus operative to count the number ofworkpieces moved by a workpiece movement device along a workpiece travelpath, the combination of a first position sensing device for providing afirst control signal when said workpiece movement device is in a firstpredetermined position in said travel path, a workpiece scanner deviceincluding a predetermined plurality of position sensing elements, witheach of said elements being operative to provide a counting signal whena workpiece is located in a predetermined portion of the travel path,and sequencing control apparatus operative with said plurality ofelements for sequentially operating said elements to provide theirrespective counting signals such that each of said elements issuccessively operative to provide a counting signal if a workpiece islocated in a predetermined position in said predetermined portion of thetravel path, a second position sensing device for providing a secondcontrol signal when said workpiece movement device is in a secondpredetermined position in a second predetermined position in said travelpath, and a signal counter device operative with said workpiece scannerdevice and responsive to said first control signal for receiving saidcounting signals, with said signal counter device being subsequentlyresponsive to said second control signal for providing an indication ofthe total number of said workpieces in said predetermined portion of thetravel path.

11. in workpiece counting apparatus operative to count the number orworkpieces moved by a workpiece movement device along a workpiece travelpath, the combination of a first position sensing device for providing afirst control signal when said workpiece movement device is in a firstpredetermined position in said travel path, a workpiece scanner deviceoperative with a predetermined portion of said travel path, with saidworkpiece scanner device including a plurality of position sensingelements positioned such that each workpiece is operative with apredetermined number of said elements for providing a predeterminednumber of counting si nals for each workpiece located in saidpredetermined portion of said path, a second position sensing device forproviding a second control signal when said workpiece movement device isin a second predetermined position in said travel path, and a counterdevice operative with said workpiece scanner device and responsive tosaid first control signal for receiving said predetermined number ofcocntin signals, with said counter device being responsive to saidsecond control signal for providing an indication of the total number ofsaid workpieces in said predetermined portion of the travel path.

12. In workpiece counting apparatus operative to count the number ofworkpieces moved by a workpiece movement device along a workpiece travelpath, the combina tion of a position sensing device for providing acontrol signal when said workpiece movement device is in a predeterminedposition in said travel path, a workpiece scanner device operative witha predetermined transverse portion of said travel path for providing apredetermined number of counting signals for each workpiece respectivelylocated in a plurality of transverse positions in said predeterminedtransverse portion of the travel path, and a counter device operativewith said workpiece scanner device and responsive to said control signalfor receiving said predetermined number of counting signals forproviding an indication of the total number of work pieces in saidpredetermined transverse portion of the travel path.

13. in workpiece counting apparatus operative to count the number ofworkpieces moved by a workpiece movement device along a workpiece travelpath, the combination of a first position sensing device for providing afirst control signal when said workpiece movement device is in a firstpredetermined position in said travel path, a workpiece scanner deviceoperative with a predetermined portion of said travel path and includinga predetermined number of position sensing elements in accordance withthe maximum number of workpieces to be positioned in said predeterminedportion of the travel path at any one time for providing a predeterminednumber of counting pulses for each workpiece located in saidpredetermined portion of the travel path, a second position sensingdevice for providing a second control signal when said workpiecemovement device is in a second predetermined position in said travelpath, and a counter device operative with said workpiece scanner deviceand responsive to said first control signal for receiving saidpredetermined number of counting signals, with said counter device beingresponsive to said second control signal for providing an indication ofthe total number of said workpieces in said predetermined portion of thetravel path.

14. In workpiece counting apparatus operative to count the number ofworkpieces moved by a workpiece movement device along a workpiece travelpath, with said travel path being capable of handling a maximum of fourtransversely positioned workpieces at any one time, the combination of aposition sensing device for providing a control signal when saidworkpiece movement device is in a first predetermined position in saidtravel path, a workpiece scanner device operative with a predeterminedportion of said travel path and including twentyfour position sensingelements positioned transversely to said workpiece movement directionalong said travel path and operative such that when one workpiece islocated in said predetermined portion of said travel path between fourand five counting signals are provided, when two workpieces are locatedin said predetermined portion of the travel path between eight and tencounting signals are provided, when three workpieces are provided insaid predetermined portion of said travel path between twelve andfifteen counting signals are provided, and when four workpieces areprovided in said predetermined portion or" said travel path betweensixteen and twenty counting signals are provided, and a counter deviceoperative with said workpiece scanner device and responsive to saidfirst control signal for receiving said counting signals for providingan indication of the total number of said workpieces in saidpredetermined portion of the travel path in accordance with the numberof said counting signals received.

15. In a workpiece counting apparatus operative with a workpiecemovement device along a workpiece movement path, the combination of afirst position sensing device for providing a first control signal whensaid workpiece movement device is in a first predetermined positionalong said path, a workpiece scanner device for scanning a predeterminedportion of said path and providing a counter signal for each workpiecepresent in said predetermined portion of the path, a second positionsensing device for providing a second control signal when said workpiecemovement device is in a second predetermined position along said path,and a counter device operative with said workpiece scanner device andincluding a plurality of first AND devices, with each of said first ANDdevices being responsive to said first control signal and one of saidcounter signals such that said counter device will receive said countersignals, with said counter device including a plurality of second ANDdevices, with each of said second AND devices being responsive to one ofsaid counter signals and said second control signal such that saidcounter device will respond to the total of said counter signalsreceived as an indication of the total number of workpieces in said predetermined portion of the movement path.

16. In workpiece counting apparatus operative to count the number ofworkpieces moved by a workpiece move ment device along a workpiecetravel path, the combination of a first position sensing device forproviding a first control signal when said workpiece movement device isin a first predetermined position in said travel path, a workpiecescanner device operative with a predetermined portion of said travelpath for providing a predetermined number of counting signals for eachworkpiece located in said predetermined portion of said path, a secondposition sensing device for providing a second control signal when saidworkpiece movement device is in a second predetermined position in saidtravel path, and a counter device operative with said workpiece scannerdevice and including a plurality of first control devices responsive tosaid first control signal and at least one of said counting signals suchthat said counter device is operative to receive said predeterminednumber of counting signals, with said counter device including aplurality of second control devices responsive to said second controlsignal and at least one of said counting signals for providing anindication of the total number of said workpieces in said predeterminedportion of the travel path.

17. In a system for counting billets fed along a billet conveyor, thecombination of positioning means for positioning billets in transversegroups on said conveyor, a billet scanner device for scanning apredetermined transverse portion of said conveyor and providingindication signals in accordance with the number of billets in each ofsaid groups respectively present in said predetermined portion of saidconveyor, a counter device operative with said billet scanner device forreceiving each of saidindication signals to totalize the number ofbillets which have been fed in groups through said predeterminedtransverse portion of said conveyor, and reset control means operativeafter the number of billets in each group has been indicated by saidscanner device to readout the resulting indication signals into saidcounter device and reset said scanner device before receiving asucceeding group of billets.

18. In a system for counting billets fed along a billet travel path, thecombination of positioning means for positioning billets in transversegroups on said travel path, a billet scanner device for scanning apredetermined transverse portion of said travel path and providingindication signals in accordance with the number of billets in each ofsaid groups present in said predetermined portion of said travel path, acounter device operative with said billet scanner device for receivingeach of said indication signals to totalize the number of billets whichhave been fed in groups through said predetermined transverse portion ofsaid travel path, first control means operative after said billets havebeen positioned to prepare said scanner device for operation, and resetcontrol means operative after the number of billets in each group hasbeen indicated by said scanner device to readout the resultingindication signals into said counter device and reset said scannerdevice before receiving a succeeding group of billets.

19. In a system for counting billets fed along a billet conveyor, thecombination of positioning means for positioning billets in a transversegroup up to a maximum number of billets on said conveyor, a billetscanner device including at least as many light paths transverse andperpendicular to said conveyor as there are billets for scanning apredetermined transverse portion of said conveyor and providing at leastone indication signal for every billet in said group present in saidpredetermined portions of said conveyor due to the interruption of saidlight paths, a counter device operative with said billet scanner devicefor receiving each indication signal to totalize the number of billetswhich have passed in groups by said predetermined transverse portion ofsaid conveyor, and reset control means operative after the number ofbillets in each group has been indicated by said scanner device toreadout any resulting indication signal into said counter device andreset said scanner device before receiving a succeeding group ofbillets.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,523,516 Potter Sept. 26, 1950 2,624,786 Potter Jan. 6, 1953 2,828,917Wheeler et a1 Apr. 1, 1958 2,869,788 Turner Jan. 20, 1959 2,975,969Stoeckel iar. 21, 1961 OTHER REFERENCES High Speed Computing Devices byEngineering Research Associates Inc, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc, NewYork, 1950. FIGS. 13-26, and page 267 relied on.

